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Guidelines for Grammar 2, EAP 0260 Text & Workbook: Basic English Grammar, Azar & Hagen (Red), 4th Edition, Pearson-Longman, 2014. Level 2 grammar is the continuation introductory course where basic grammar skills are taught and reviewed. Some of our students may have been placed into this course without having had instruction in the competencies of Level 1; therefore, all basic structures of level 1 Grammar will be reviewed, tested, and mastered in this course before students move on to the next level. The aim of this course is to instruct and further develop skills acquired in EAP 0160. Students will continue to develop these patterns in basic English grammar so that they increase their understanding of basic language, word order, parts of speech, high frequency basic vocabulary, and structures to prepare them for more in depth practice in EAP 0360, the last course in the basic grammar series of our program. 1) A simple diagnostic exam must be given to assess readiness of the group, whose abilities and prior knowledge may vary depending on exposure to their languages in their native countries or during their residence in Miami. Many have placed within this level and, therefore, have not benefitted from the previous course. A series of sentences and answers to basic questions about family, friends, professional goals, activities, hobbies, and other interests should be used to make an initial assessment of proficiency. In other words, students should be able to write basic sentences on these topics. 2) The sentences should be prompted by the professor with the goal of assessing word order patterns and whether students can express themselves with some confidence. Students having difficulty executing these tasks should be immediately referred to our tutoring services. Emphasis is on producing simple sentences in active voice (S+V+C); compound sentences with and, but, or, and so; complex sentences with high frequency subordinating conjunctions in adverb clauses showing sequence or reason—after, before, when, while, because; simple questions using who, what, where, when, how, how often, and why. In addition, emphasize verb tenses beginning with basic imperative commands; the verb to be; simple present vs present progressive, simple past, and simple future (will and be+going) outlined in competency #4; high frequency irregular verbs and negations. Students will learn parts of speech (N, PN, ADJ, V, ADV, PREP, CONJ, INTERJECTIONS) as well as certain verbs followed by the infinitive (competency #5). For instance, focus on adverbs of frequency and manner, prepositional phrases, irregular nouns (countable/uncountable), noun phrases with quantifiers, nouns as objects and subjects as well as possessive pronouns and adjectives. These are outlined in #3 of the Grammar Competencies. 3) Exercises should include oral drill work along with those in the text and the accompanying workbook (which may be purchased). Oral work should include substitution and replacement drills in addition to personalizing situations, relevant to the students, in the appropriate tenses; in this way, drill work has a context for normal, everyday circumstances. Have photos ready to describe actions. Students with difficulties in executing the review of Present, Past, and Future tenses need to be referred to our tutoring service. 4) Make sure to include extensive oral and written work—teacher/student and student/student—to facilitate spoken and written skills. Do as many textbook/workbook exercises as time permits. Have students create their own questions in situational contexts. These as well as oral exercises will prepare students for more comprehensive work in higher level tenses. 5) To improve the active skills—speaking and writing--emphasis should be placed on connecting ideas through compound and complex sentences. Devise your own sentence-combining activities and drills for this purpose; other exercises can be utilized so that students create their own sentences. In this way, they will be able to see relationships between ideas more readily. Moreover, all exercises and drills should be incorporated in midterm and final exams to reinforce concepts. Make sure grammar class is conversationally active as much as possible in order that students do not lose track of grammar’s usefulness in active skills and everyday situations. 6) To summarize, Grammar 2 is the second course of basic grammar in our program of six levels, all of which will expand on these items and more complex skills to ensure readiness for more advanced levels. Not all exercises from text or workbook need to be done. Make sure students capture the essence of the lessons through exemplary exercises that illustrate the points to be understood. Elicit rules from students when possible rather than dictate rules. Do diagrams to demonstrate sequence of tenses. Hand out worksheets that pinpoint the sequence of tenses through cue words. Finally, please ensure that students express themselves reasonably well in formal and informal situations. ................
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